Treasured Memories
by AzureAzu
Summary: He hadn't had what you'd call a perfect childhood, being the son of the boss that owned a nation wide criminal organization.


**Author's Note: I'm uploading this again because I didn't know much about how things were submitted here, and apparently ff doesn't like the breaks ms word provides orz So now they've all been replaced with an 'x' to be less confusing. **

"Daddy?"

He didn't hear him.

"Dad?"

He had probably ignored him this time.

"F-Father?"

"Oh, for the love of-" Giovanni Rocket looked up from his massive mahogany table and down at his five year old son, Silver, before him who was holding a stuffed Tediursa in his arms and a big grin, and barked, "What?"

Silver, excitedly said ,"Daddy? Do you know what day it is?"  
>Giovanni snarled and his attention shifted back to his papers in front of him, "Couldn't you have asked a servant for something so stupid?"<p>

"Daddy, it's my birthday!"

"So?"

Silver's heart felt as though it had been stabbed. "W-won't you…do anything?"

Giovanni looked immediately up, instantly making Silver regret not listening to his friend Proton's advice about not bothering his father, since he was all busy with his paperwork and preparations for the festive party and barked, "Is that it? _That's all? _I've got a more important things to do than this. Go, go to Archer and tell him to order you a cake or such. Leave."  
>"But Dad!"<p>

"Alfred," said Giovanni to the grunt next to him, "Take him out. And next time keep in mind never to let the children in."

The grunt nodded and walked over to Silver, taking his hand and half dragging him, half walking him toward the door. Bending slightly down to talk to him, he said, "Hey, kid. Your dad's kinda busy right now, okay? Just leave him until tomorrow or-"  
>"But tomorrow won't be my birthday!"<p>

"H-hey, cheer up," he said. They were outside the office door now. "Your Dad probably has a surprise or something up his sleeve. Yeah…"

Silver's ears perked up and he looked up, hope gleaming in his grey eyes. "Really?"  
>"Well, er, you never know" said the grunt, his voice faltering. "I gotta get back now. Happy birthday, kid."<p>

Silver nodded, smiling and turned around.

That must be it! His father was trying to hide a surprise for him, and that was why he seemed grouchy; because he must have been afraid the secret would've been found out!

Silver was far too excited to wait, so he decided to go exploring the large mansion looking for it.

"We've got an adventure, Coco, " he giggled to his stuffed Pokémon, before running down the hall to the dining room. And then the living room, and then the kitchen, and then maybe the balcony or the library and then…

Silver collapsed on his bed in misery. He had been up too late-three and a half hours past his curfew of 7-looking for his cake, presents and, most importantly, a Daddy and Mommy willing to eat that cake and open those presents with him. But instead he's managed to bump into Proton who told him he should go to sleep before the grown ups found them out.

Reluctantly he made his way there, only to be found by the nanny, Madam Robins, who chastised him, had him change into his sleeping clothes, brush his teeth and comb his bright red hair before sending him to his room, a perfect picture of disappointment.

He let the hot tears run down his cheeks. Daddy probably didn't care.

He heard the sound of a door opening, and said, "I brushed my teeth already."

"Oh? That's too bad, really. I was hoping we'd share this cake together."

Silver looked up to see his mother, who was dressed up for the party they were holding for Christmas Eve, and big sister, Arianna, at the door, holding a cake in the shape of a Charizard, Silver's current favourite Pokémon.

His father may not have cared, but it was nice to know the rest of his family did.

x

"Proton! Have you seen Arianna and Silver!"

Proton immediately looked up from his book and stood straight, looking Madam Robins straight in the eye. "No, Ma'am" he said, "I was told not to follow them."

"You're supposed to be in charge of them!" she yelled. Strands of hair were coming out of her usually neat bun and she seemed to be quite stressed by their disappearance. "You should know!"

"Well," Proton began thoughtfully, "They _were _heading to the garden last time I saw them…"

That was enough for her. She immediately barged out and started walking west towards the garden. Proton carefully watched her leave before turning around and whispering to the wardrobe behind him, "Coast's clear! You guys can come out now."  
>Immediately the siblings tumbled out from there, Silver in a fit of laughter and Arianna giggling beside him. Proton laughed too and helped Arianna up.<p>

"So what now?" asked Arianna breathlessly.

Silver and Proton looked at each other before Silver said slyly, "I guess it looks like the kitchen's not guarded..."

Arianna smiled.

"Last one there is a rotten, stinky egg!" yelled Silver before darting out of the room, Proton and Arianna running alongside him.

x

Music elegantly sounded from the violin Silver was playing. He had his eyes closed in concentration, focusing on the music. After finishing the sonata he opened his eyes and looked at the man in front him.

His father.

"Good enough," he muttered, "You faltered in the middle. Practice more. You may leave."

Silver nodded and headed out of the door. Out of his sight now, he felt like hurling his violin in the ground in rage and running out of the house. But he knew that was stupid. Instead his hands balled into fists and he looked down at the ground. For a child of eleven and a half, being able to play that well was amazing, and he knew that. But, of course, it would never be good enough for his father. He resolved to try harder. He had to win his father's approval. He had to be perfect.

Shaking his head, he loosened his collar shirt a button and headed down to the study. His tutor must be here by now.

"And I think we've covered all the maths we need for the day," finished . Silver collapsed back in his chair, sighing. He was dead tired by now. Studying was hard.

He was sure it would've been more enjoyable if he was able to go to school and make friends, but of course Father would never hear of it. His children were above others. It would've been easier for him to make friends if he'd gone there. He wasn't like Arianna who could make friends over conversations of music and television. And Proton, being nearly fifteen now had much more important things to do. Even though Father probably would never agree, Silver would never have asked in the first place. Because that would mean losing , who was the only caring adult he had left. She was so smart and kind with her brown hair and green eyes, Silver had immediately loved her the first day of his own little 'school' (and at one point even had a small crush on her). He had to admit, for the time being, she was his only friend.

"Silver?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Silver had been dreading this question.

"No."  
>sighed and closed the math book in front of them. "Silver, I know it must be hard for you to get over this, but please keep in mind that we're all here for you. An d don't get mad about your father being a bit more harsh either; he's grieving just as much as you are. I-"<p>

"He's not."

"What?"

"He doesn't care. This is just a distraction. He's getting back to his work, and that's good."

"Silver, I'm sure your Mother's passing away isn't simply a distraction. It-"

"Bye."

Silver got up from his chair and left the room, not even bothering to be courteous about it.

She sighed. She was honestly worried for that child.

Silver ran to his room as fast as his legs could carry him and quickly locked the door from behind. Then he let the tears run down his face for the first time after the funeral. That was when he first had the thought. Maybe love was a distraction.

x

"Rattata, use Tackle!"  
>"No way! Pidgey, Peck!"<p>

"Aw, man! Rattata, no!"

As the boy hurried over to his rattata, a twelve year old Silver watched the boys at the far side of the playground. He was sitting on a swing staring at them with a look of envy upon his face.

"Hey, Silv, you comin' or what?" Silver looked behind him to see his own gang of friends looking at him. He got up from the swing, dug his hands in his jacket and started walking towards them.

"Tch, of course I am," he said pushing past the boy who'd said that.

The rest shrugged and followed him out. Silver stole a quick glance at the boys who had been battling before and realized how jealous he was. Jealous of the way they had Pokémon, _real friends _and probably a normal family with a Mom and Dad.

x

"And then, they married and lived happily ever after," finished Soul Rocket in her light voice closing the story book. She looked down at her small, little Silver sitting down in her lap smiling happily at the book

"That mean witch never got to them?"

"Never again."

"Good!" laughed Silver, revealing two of the five year old's front teeth to be missing.

Soul smiled herself and leaned back on her chair.

"But there is one thing…"

"What?"

"I never wanna get married!"

"Really?" she said pretending to be offended, "Why not?"

"Because girls are _icky_," Silver said making a face

"Mm? Do you think I'm icky?"

"No! Mama's the best in the world" he said throwing his arms up to emphasize the fact.

She gave her light laugh, "Thank you. But then do you think Arianna's icky?"

Silver thought about it for a while before nodding, "I saw her picking her nose yesterday…"  
>"Aw, give your sister a chance, will you?"<p>

He laughed and Soul took that as an 'okay'.

"Now, Silver" said Soul a bit more seriously, "You've got to know, one day you're going to find this _wonderful _girl, and she won't be icky like anyone else is. She's going to make you feel happy and good and you'll both love each other. And one day, you two will marry and I'll be there watching."

A silence passed between them.

"Well, as long as she isn't icky…" he said kicking his foot in the air.

Soul grinned and hugged her child.

"Mama…you're…squishing me!"

"Alright, alright! Sorry!" she said letting go.

"Mama, do you love Papa like that?"

"Of course I do, Silvy! Why do you think I married him?"

"Does Papa love you then?"

"101% percent!"

"Then why doesn't he ever say it?" asked Silver frowning.

"Well, Silver," she sighed, "Sometimes people often are so caught up with making things better for them, they forget about showing the people they love that they love them. Trust me, if it wasn't for me, your Papa would be an even bigger grump. "

She paused for a while before saying, seriously once more, "Silver promise me one thing."

"What?"

"When you find that girl, tell her you love her. Don't let her forget that."  
>"But I still don't wannnnaaa"<p>

"Promise?" she said holding up her pinky.

"…Promise," he agreed joining along his.

"Good. Anything else before bed time?"

"Yeah. Where do babies come from-"

"Good night, Silver."

X

Ladies in elegant dresses and men in suits were scattered everywhere, socializing, talking, dancing and sipping champagne from tall wine glasses. Silver watched them himself, bored of the event already. He took a sip of his fruit punch before handing it to a waiter.

He and Arianna had been invited to come along with their father to the party held by one of the most important men in Kanto, whatever his name was. Arianna, of course, had managed to strike up a conversation with someone and was now talking with a bunch of teens her own age. It was Silver who had managed to stick out through the event, since he wasn't exactly too keen on people.

Silver felt a man place his hand on him from the back. "And this is my son, Silver."

Silver turned around to look at Giovanni and then who he was being introduced to; a man around forty, with salt and pepper hair and a smile.

"Pleasure to meet you, sir" said Silver, not feeling pleasured at all.

"Same, boy. Hey, Giovanni, how old is he?"

"Fourteen, David."

_Yeah, _he thought, _next month._

"Ah, I see. Here, Silver, right? I'd like you to meet my niece; Annie."

Silver felt exasperated at those very words. Great. Just freaking great.

Behind David was a girl around Silver's age, with round blue eyes and raven black hair made elegantly and wearing a blue dress that seemed to go with her eyes. Double great. Another one of those typical girls Arianna always hung out with.

"Hello," she said to him smiling.

He nodded back before remembering his father was right next to him and then said, "Hello," rather curtly.

"Why don't you two go along together while David and I talk business," said Giovanni to them before turning back to that David man.

Silver nodded and walked towards Annie. She smiled at him and, linking her arm with his, walked with him away.

"So," she began, "You come to these things a lot?"

"When Father tells me to. Usually he holds the parties" was his reply.

She nodded. "Uncle brings me to parties a lot-and I guess I've been to one or two in your mansion too-so I always have to be prepared. But on the bright side I don't have to worry about what to wear. I mean, I probably have _hundreds_ of dresses in my wardrobe. But this has to be my favourite by far. Look, it goes with my eyes right?"

"Uh, sure," Silver said, already annoyed by her. But he had to live up to his father's expectations of him at a party. Maybe even impress him this time.

"Anyway-oh, look! A new song!" she looked at him expectedly.

Silver looked back, wondering whatever the hell it was she expected him to say. Suddenly it hit him. "Er, may I have this dance?" he requested.

She gave another one of her irritating smiles and took his hand.

Soon they were dancing on the ballroom floor along with the other dancing partners, Silver waiting for the song to be over soon.

"You're pretty good at this," she said looking up at him.

"Yeah, well, I have a lot of practice, with all the parties and stuff."

She gave an annoying, fake-sounding laugh. "That's nice."

Thankfully, the song ended there, and he let go of her.

"Hey, let's go to the snack table. I'm thirsty, and I think I saw my friends over there."  
>Silver shrugged and followed her there.<p>

A couple of teens his age and maybe some older ones were there, talking among themselves, away from the adults who had brought them there.

"Ah, Sherry, hi!" trilled Annie, hugging a blonde, freckled girl, "So what's up? Hold on a sec-hey, Silver, you won't mind if I talk to my friends here for a while, right?"

"Go ahead," he said, not being able to care less.

"Oh, you're so sweet!" she said. And then gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Silver wiped his face the second she turned back. He returned to looking over at the crowd, thoughts wandering.

Silver sat in the limousine, staring out of the window. He was tensed up, the way he always was when he was in front of his father for such a long time. Arianna seemed to be just as cautious as him, a fake smile plastered across her lip and waiting patiently.

After a while, Giovanni spoke. "Silver, about Annie."  
>"Yes?"<p>

"She's your fiancé. David's an important business partner, and we'll gain a mutual benefit once you two marry."

Silver wanted to protest. He wanted to tell him that Annie was exactly one of those 'icky' girls he'd never want to marry. To tell him there was no chance in hell he'd ever want that.

But his father wasn't one to be argued with.

"Yes, Father."

There wasn't even a reply

X

X

"Hey! Hey, Silver, are you alright?"

Silver snapped back to reality to see a concerned Lyra waving a hand in front of him.

"What?" He spat, somewhat bitterly.

"You kinda zoned out there. Actually, ever since I asked you about your childhood, you've been quiet."

"Yeah, well you better stop asking too many questions," he said, continuing to walk on.

He received no answer from her.

"What about you?" he asked breaking the silence.

"Huh?"

"I asked how your childhood was like. "

"Oh, yeah." She looked up at the city's sunset sky, lost in a daze, seeming nostalgic.

"Well, my Mom used to be pretty busy when I was a kid. Course she'd spend Sundays with us, sometimes, but usually I didn't see her that often through the week. Dad had a more flexible job, so he was the one who usually cooked for me and sent me to school and all. After he passed away, Mom got even busier, so she hired Felecia-and she's been an even bigger Mom to me. Then we moved to Newbark town, Dad's birthplace, with Felecia. Mom visits a few times a month though."

Silver looked at her, surprised. He'd always expected her to have one of those rainbow painted childhoods with tooth-fairies and picnics.

But now he found out she's had almost as much a screwy childhood as him.

A few words of his childhood echoed back to him.

_'Tell her you love her. Don't let her forget that.'_

"Hey, Kotone."

"Yeah?"

"I love you, idiot."

Kotone smiled and held her boyfriend's hand, her fingers lacing with his.

"I know. I love you, too."

These would be memories he'd treasure.


End file.
